Start by reading Contagious, Chapter 1 “Social Currency” (pgs. 29-60). I won’t ask you to admit it in the course discussion board, but do answer this question
yourself – which of the techniques described in the chapter have appealed to you before? Is Berger correct – does social currency explain why things go viral?
Read Erich Jaochimsthaler’s 2017 article in Adweek titled “The Power of Social Currency.”
Read Pressgrove, Weberling McKeever & Mo Jang’s (2017) piece “What is contagious: Exploring why content goes viral on Twitter: A case study of the ALS Ice
Bucket Challenge,” from the International Journal of Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Marketing (attached as a PDF at the top of this section). This research
article is a fascinating application of Berger’s STEPPS to the ALS case. How many of you remember this event? Did you participate? Which one of Berger’s
reasons explains your participation? How does the research line up with your thinking?
Sample Solution
